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Month: December 2010

It’s the tail end of the two month- volunteer art show at the SCRAP (School and Community Re-use Action Project) Re:Vision Gallery. Go down and see the show, and then wander through SCRAP’s wonderland of used-and-reusable items. In the last few weeks, I’ve picked up holiday cards, some yarn in a friend’s favorite color, several blank books (including two of those hardbacked large-sized drawing books), a framed photograph of the Stark Street Ferry, some stencil-paint crayons, a block of foliage foam…. I have a hard time not loading up when I go to SCRAP. Anyway, a few photos of the items in the current show in the gallery:

A (pointed?) message from the Irvington Covenant Church this holiday season:

For some thoughts from Portlanders who follow policing in our city closely, please visit Rose City Copwatch; on youtube, an interview with Kristian Williams, who writes about the history, theory, and practice of policing (I’m reading one of his books right now); and Rev. Chuck Currie’s response to the recent promotion of Leo Besner to the rank of sergeant in the Portland Police Bureau.

Also, the Albina Ministerial Alliance has advocated strongly, again and again, for police accountability in Portland. In November, the Alliance called for reforms in policing. Rev. T. Allen Bethel of the Maranatha Church stated, “We do not want any criminal element in our community held unaccountable,” including “citizens employed by the police bureau.”

The North by Northeast Community Health Center opened in 2006 at 3030 Northeast MLK Boulevard, thanks to the work of Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith and Dr. Jill Ginsberg. It is a neighborhood clinic offering health services to low-income uninsured adult residents of the following zip codes: 97211, 97212, 97217, 97227, and 97203.

This video features an introduction to the clinic, its founders, and the services it provides:

The clinic is open on Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 pm; please check their website for a list of services provided through the clinic. Thanks to all who are involved for this wonderful contribution to our North and Northeast neighborhoods.

I just found this article, but it’s certainly not untimely to revisit the feelings and expectations that the election of Barack Obama to the presidency had for folks. In an article for the Portland Tribune in November 2008, Peter Korn headed to MLK Boulevard to chat with folks in the area about the just-finished election, and their hopes for what might come next.

Interviewees include Gloria McMurtry of Reflections, just off MLK; Paul Knauls, long-time area activist – including one of the founders of the Union Avenue Boosters Association – and owner of Geneva’s on MLK; Chad Debnam, former chair of the King Neighborhood Association; and Nate Jackson, owner of ‘N The Cut, a barbershop on MLK.